Could it be that, finally, Houston Nutt will be back on the collegiate sidelines? While there’s no definitive answer, there’s at least a possibility.
Monday, Tulsa did the expected and fired head coach Bill Blankenship. The school has already apparently hired a search firm to find its new sideline boss, and apparently the former Ole Miss and Arkansas head coach is squarely in the mix.
Well, at least according to him he is.
Houston Nutt: "Tulsa has hired a firm for their coaching search and they have shown some interest in me. It would be a great opportunity."
— RJ Hawk (@RJHawk) December 3, 2014
Obviously, the Golden Hurricane’s search is in the very early stages of a process that’s expected to continue for at least another week or two, but Nutt is certainly an intriguing candidate with a lot of both pros and cons.
The 57-year-old Nutt just finished his third regular season away from the coaching game, passing his time doing the radio/television thing. He does, though, possess more head-coaching experience than anyone who’ll likely be up for the job.
Nutt’s been a head coach at four different schools: Murray State (1993-96); Boise State (1997); Arkansas (1998-2007); and Ole Miss (2008-11). For whatever reason, Nutt has been toxic since he “resigned” from the Rebels in the midst of a 2-10 season (he was allowed to finish out the year), although the fact that he resigned as UA’s head coach amidst controversy and rumors only to take the same job at Ole Miss less than 24 hours later could have some athletic directors keeping their distance.
His name has been attached to a couple of openings the past two years, namely SMU, UConn and USF.